


Better

by localspacelesbian



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Language, T. J. Kippen & Amber Are Siblings, past tarty, the Bench scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 06:38:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19388551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/localspacelesbian/pseuds/localspacelesbian
Summary: TJ runs into an ex at Andi's party.





	Better

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Better by Ben Platt. I don't why, but I just feel like it fits TJ and Marty.

TJ and Amber walked into the Mack house for Andi’s party. He quickly scanned the room to see who all was there. (He was not looking for Cyrus, nope.) There were more people there than he had been expecting. He noticed Buffy on the other side of the room, but when he saw who she was talking to, he froze. _No. What is he doing here? What the actual fuck is he doing here?_

Amber noticed the expression on his face. “Are you ok?”

“Why is he here?”

Amber followed his gaze. “Marty? I’m pretty sure he and Buffy are like dating or something.”

He looked at his sister. “Wait. Buffy’s Marty, Marty from the party, is the same Marty as… And you knew? And you didn’t tell me?”

“Yeah. I thought you knew? I mean, how many Martys can there be at Jefferson?”

TJ just shook his head. She put a hand on his arm and looked at him in concern. “Are you going to be ok? We can leave if you want.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

She smiled at him softly. “Don’t let him get in your head. It’s a big party; it shouldn’t be too hard to avoid him.” He nodded. “You’re not going to let this get in the way of you talking to Cyrus, right?”

Before he could answer, Cyrus appeared in front of them. “Hey guys, I’m glad you could make it.” He seemed to notice something in TJ’s face because he looked at him with concern. “Are you ok, Teej?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Cyrus looked like he didn’t believe him, but he didn’t push it.

Amber went off somewhere to talk to Andi, and TJ and Cyrus walked around the party for a bit, talking to various people (well, Cyrus did most of the talking). TJ was just starting to think he could make it through the whole party without having to see Marty when they quite literally ran into each other. Marty and TJ both started to apologize but froze when they saw who it was. TJ could practically feel the tension in the air. Buffy and Cyrus looked between the two with matching confused expressions on their faces.

“Marty.” TJ hated the way his voice broke when she said the name.

“TJ.” TJ had never heard Marty sound so cold before.

Amber appeared out of nowhere, standing next to her brother with their shoulders pressed together.

Cyrus broke the silence. “So, you two do know each other?”

Marty answered, “We used to.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow at Marty. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound ominous at all. You told me that TJ didn’t know you exist.” Marty looked down at his feet. She looked between the two boys. “Ok, will someone please explain what’s going on?”

Marty looked up at TJ. “Do you want to tell them?”

“Not really.” TJ could feel himself getting defensive.

Marty scoffed, crossing his arms. “Yeah, some things never change I guess.”

Amer took a step forward. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean? TJ doesn’t have to tell anyone anything. He doesn’t owe you anything.”

TJ reached out an put a hand on her arm. She turned back to him and her face softened. “Actually, I do owe Marty something: an apology.”

Marty scoffed again. “Yeah, right. TJ Kippen apologizing? Sounds fake.”

Cyrus spoke before TJ had a chance to. “Hey, I don’t know what happened between you two, but TJ’s changed a lot these past few months. Maybe you should hear him out.”

Marty looked at Buffy, who nodded. He gestured for TJ to go on.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For everything.”

“Not good enough, Kippen.” Marty started to walk away, but TJ reached out a hand to stop him.

“What do you want from me, Marty? I know I messed up, like I mess up everything good in my life, but don’t act so innocent. You’re the one who walked away. We’ve known each other since we were five years old, and one argument is all it takes for you to give up?”

Marty looked him in the eye. “Except it wasn’t just one argument, TJ. It was everything that led up to to it. Things started going downhill the moment you became friends with those dirtbike dumbasses.”

“Are you really still blaming Reed? Look, you were right; he’s an asshole, but he’s not why we broke up, and you know it.” TJ put a hand over his mouth as soon as he realized what he said. He looked at the four shocked faces around him. He took a page out of Marty’s book and ran away.

He ended up outside on a bench. There was fire going in a fire pit in front of him, even though no one else was out there.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, willing himself not to cry, when Cyrus found him. “Is that seat taken?”

TJ looked up. “That depends. Do you hate me?”

Cyrus seemed confused. “Why would I hate you? ‘Cause you dated Marty?”

TJ looked down. “‘Cause I’m gay.”

Suddenly, Cyrus was sitting next to him and hugging him. “TJ, I could never hate you for that. You know that, right?”

TJ nodded and pulled away from him. “Yeah, I was gonna tell you soon anyway, but that’s not really how I wanted you to find out. I knew you’d be okay with it, but-”

“But it’s still terrifying.”

“Yeah.” TJ searched Cyrus’s face for something; even he wasn’t really sure what. “Is there anything you wanna tell me?” He put his hand next to Cyrus’s, not quite touching.

Cyrus looked down at there hands and then looked back up at TJ and smiled. “I’m gay, too.”

TJ smiled at him. “Really?” Cyrus nodded. TJ didn’t know how to put what he felt into words, so just pulled Cyrus in for another hug.

When they pulled apart, Cyrus said, “There’s something else I wanna tell you.”

TJ tilted his head to the side. “What is it?”

Cyrus put his hand on TJ’s, which made his heart skip a beat. “I like you.”

“Oh.” TJ moved his hand so they were hold hands. “I like you, too.”

Cyrus smiled widely. “Really?” TJ nodded, and Cyrus practically attacked him with another hug. They stayed like that for a while before Cyrus pulled back.

“Can I ask you a question? That you don’t have to answer. Not that you ever have to answer any questions, but you know-”

“Go ahead, underdog.” Cyrus blushed.

“What happened between you and Marty?”

TJ looked down and sighed. “He moved in down the street from me when we were five. We became best friends pretty much instantly. And then, in 6th grade, he became my first crush, which was terrifying. That’s kinda how I realized I’m gay. His moms actually helped me out with that quite a bit, which was kinda weird, but they were the only other gay people I knew, so I didn’t know who else to talk to about it. And then, we started dating, but I didn’t want anyone to know, especially my parents, so we couldn’t exactly go on real dates. And like he said, that’s also when I became friends Reed and Lester. Marty didn’t exactly get along with them. I guess we kind of just started to drift apart.” He shrugged. “We both changed a lot, you know? That happens in middle school I guess. And not always for the better. I was becoming the asshole I was before I met you. And then it all culminated in this huge fight, and then he walked away and never spoke to me again. Until tonight anyway.”

Cyrus squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”

TJ shrugged. “It’s fine. I got over him a long time ago.” He smiled at Cyrus. “Besides, if we hadn’t broken up, I wouldn’t get to be with you.”

Cyrus smiled at that. “Do you think you two will ever be friends again?”

“I hope so. I mean, with you and I being whatever we are, and him and Buffy being whatever they are, It would be pretty hard to keep avoiding each other. Plus,” He looked down. “I miss him.”

Cyrus nodded and held up their hands. “And what are we exactly?”

“What do you want to be?”

“Boyfriends?”

TJ smiled. “I’d like that.”

Cyrus smiled back. “So, what should we tell them?” He gestured at the house behind them with his thumb.  
“Well, I don’t know if I’m ready to go around announcing it, but I don’t think I want to hide it this time either.”

Cyrus nodded. “That’s fair. I still have to tell three of my four parents. Although, I did promise Sharon that I would tell her as soon as I got a boyfriend, so be prepared to be invited over for dinner sometime.”

TJ laughed. “I think I can live with that.”

When they walked back into the house holding hands, Buffy immediately ran over to them, smiling proudly. Behind her, Marty, Andi, and Amber were following at a normal pace. She immediately hugged Cyrus, and then, to his surprise, she hugged TJ, too. She whispered in his ear, “You don’t want to see me when he’s sad.” He got the message loud and clear. When she pulled away, she was still smiling widely.

When she stepped away, Marty took a step closer to TJ. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” He held out his hand to Marty. “Friends?”

Marty looked at Buffy and Cyrus and then back at TJ. He shook his hand and nodded. “Yeah, I guess I can live with that. For their sake.” He nodded his head toward Buffy and Cyrus. “Though, I hope you know that if you hurt Cyrus, I will happily help Buffy hide your body.” Andi and Amber nodded in agreement. _Really, Amber? Your own brother?_

TJ just nodded. “I expect nothing less.” Even though he was being threatened, it was nice to see how much they all cared about Cyrus. “Although, I hope you know that if you hurt Buffy, I’ll also help her hide your body.”

Cyrus just shook his head in amusement while Buffy smiled at TJ with something that looked oddly like pride? Or maybe approval?


End file.
